"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Greater access to … profits.

Sent to the New York Times, Feb. 4, 2014

Why are Microsoft, Verizon, Sprint and Apple so eager to donate three quarters of a billion dollars to increase school access to the internet ("Obama Announces Pledges of $750 Million for Student Technology," Feb. 4)? Could it be related to the fact that the Common Core requires online testing, a move that will result in unprecedented profits for these companies? Online testing requires not only access, but massive amounts of new technology that promises to be obsolete as soon as it is in place. There is no evidence that greater access to the internet will help school achievement, and if the brave new technology fails to produce results, teachers will be blamed and there will be calls for more technology. The students will have greater access to the internet, and these companies will have greater access to the $500+ billion we spend on public education annually.